It’s not easy being a gay man in Utah, but it’s even more difficult when you’re young and overweight. Jay has never fit in with the general “club culture” and he knows he’d never be attractive enough to catch a one-night stand, much less a boyfriend. Losing himself in books and school alleviates his loneliness, and he doesn’t waste time dreaming about what he can’t have. Until he meets the new director of the GLBT Center on campus and promptly falls in love -- against all common sense and logic.<br><br>Hoping to catch a few glimpses of Stephen outside of the Center, Jay decides to start working out at the university gym. The plan turns out to be too successful as Stephen volunteers to be his workout buddy, then invites Jay out to lunch, and finally, kisses him. Jay wants Stephen more than anything, but he can’t bring himself to trust Stephen’s intentions. Not when he knows he’s disgusting and Stephen is so perfect ...

From Behind that Locked Door

They made it back to their room in record time. All of them were out of breath and tired, but they couldn’t afford to relax. Once they got in, Cillian realized that the motel still had power. Jack turned on the TV. The twenty-four-hour news cycle was still focused on the destruction in Chicago. Whole buildings were on fire. Bodies littered the streets and sidewalks. Police and firefighters had abandoned their posts and weren’t responding to calls for help. The city’s mag-lev train system was offline, and one of the trains had derailed. It was chaos.


It soothed him slightly to know that the danger hadn’t reached them.


Jack indicated that he was confident they were safe. He left them to go find Zoe, just in case. She would want to know they were back from the museum, anyway. He waved goodbye as Henri and Cillian watched a flyover of Chicago.


Chapter 82